This invention relates to spectrometers and in particular to spectrometers that provide a direct readout of the dispersed light.
The traditional spectrometer has used mechanical manipulation of the grating or prism element. Another technique that has become well known in the art is use of electronically scanned image tubes or semiconductors for photodiode arrays. Examples of this last technique can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,820,898 and 3,886,331.
In general these systems require sophisticated optical systems to gather sufficient light and are bulky. These factors have prevented spectrometers from being field-portable. To be mobile, simpler optical paths and self scanning detectors should be used since constant moving would be less apt to disrupt the alignment of known systems.